Final

Question 1

3 effects of nuclear weapons?

Answer 1

Blast, fire, radiation

Question 2

MAD (aka, minimal deterrence; finite deterrence)

Answer 2

A state has assured second strike capability; first strike: one country attacks another w nuclear weapons; second strike: response strike that guarantees unacceptable damage to the other country

Question 3

Hard vs soft target

Answer 3

hard target is like,,, buried deep inside a mountain; to take out a hard target you need high accuracy and high yield weapons. Soft targets are things like cities.

Question 4

nuclear revolution

Answer 4

1. mutual kill (can kill but not defend)—Military victory no longer possible because the loser can kill the winner; using nuclear weapons in this scenario is suicide.
2. destructive power (no proportionality)—The amount of destruction is so unbelievable that there’s a lack of proportion between means and ends.
3. unlimited power, but limited influence—The power to kill is unlimited, but the power to influence is limited.

Question 5

Absolute vs relative weapon

Answer 5

Absolute vs relative weapon: amount of destruction is enormous and nuclear weapons don’t fight other nuclear weapons
Ex: In Russia/Ukraine right now, it matters who has more troops or more tanks bc those are relative weapons

Question 6

counterforce

Answer 6

using missiles to take out other missiles/targeting the other side’s military (NUTS)

Question 7

counter value

Answer 7

taking out cities/soft targets

Question 8

escalation dominance

Answer 8

Conflict having different levels, like rungs on a ladder—Lowest rung would be like belittling conflicts, followed by things like economic sanctions, etc etc up to the most destructive nuclear weapons. Not only do you need weapons equipped for each level of the ladder, but you also need to be able to dominate at each level of violence

Question 9

Left of Launch

Answer 9

disabling a missile before it flies (cyber attack or sabotage)

Question 10

fog of war

Answer 10

the confusion of warfare makes it difficult to know what your side is doing and what the other side is doing

Question 11

Terrorism

Answer 11

Violence against civilians to coerce political change by nonstate actors.

Question 12

insurgency vs terrorist groups

Answer 12

Insurgency has a solid base they can draw on for recruitment and the goal is to overthrow the government.
Ex: Hamas is an insurgency that uses terrorist tactics, same with the Taliban

Question 13

Nerve gas

Answer 13

Prevent transmission of nerve impulses from one nerve cell to a muscle or another nerve. Other weapons in this family include VX, Novichok, and Sarin.

Question 14

Host switching diseases

Answer 14

naturally occurring diseases that when introduced into a new host, has new lethal consequences

Question 15

MOAB

Answer 15

Mother of all bombs

Question 16

Restrainer

Answer 16

believer in a more restrained policy, not isolationist but definitely not interventionist—Steve Walt

Question 17

cyber warfare

Answer 17

using the internet to attack computers, gain information, spread false information, or disable and destroy things that computers operate or that are connected to the internet.

Question 18

cyber espionage

Answer 18

Clandestine collection and reporting on information on foreign governments (espionage), now using computers to do it (spyware)!

Question 19

Disinformation

Answer 19

the intentional spread of false messages to deceive decision making elites or the public. Psychological operations would be an example of a disinformation campaign.

Question 20

Intelligence

Answer 20

The gathering and analysis of information by public or clandestine means

Question 21

intel operations

Answer 21

actions taken clandestinely to affect another country’s politics, economics, or military capabilities

Question 22

signal

Answer 22

Signal is diagnostic; it’s revealing and tells you something important.

Question 23

noise

Answer 23

useless info about an adversary; or misinformation intended to deceive

Question 24

hindsight bias

Answer 24

what you know now influences your interpretation of historical events

Question 25

MRAPs

Answer 25

Mine Resistant Ambush Protected military fighting vehicle

Question 26

Acoustics

Answer 26

weapons that shoot either very low or very high frequency sounds. Goal is to deter, disorient, disperse, disable, incapacitate, or deny access to an area

Question 27

Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)

Answer 27

These are sound lasers and sound cannons; often used as a communications device, shoots sound up to 5 ½ miles.
Or as a non lethal device—some LRADs can emit a high pitched chirping sound that makes ppl cover their ears and run away—a whopping 162 decibels (conversation is 60 decibels and the threshold for pain is 130 decibels)

Question 28

flashbang grenades

Answer 28

Both acoustic and light, they combine blinding light w deafening noise (170 db) to temporarily stun and incapacitate—NOT SUPPOSED TO CAUSE PERMANENT HARM

Question 29

dazzling lasers—Glare mount, Glow

Answer 29

Attach the laser to an M4 rifle and shoot at least 75 yards and it temporarily blinds people; saves a lot of lives bc it lowers the need for warning shots or killing shots for combatants who aren’t paying attention, etc

Question 30

Active Denial System (“pain-ray”)

Answer 30

Directed energy weapon that shoots a wave of energy in a very narrow band that causes intense heat on the outermost layer of the skin and the pain stops the second you move out of the way

Question 31

Kinetics

Answer 31

direct fire, low hazard, non shrapnel producing munitions. The whole point is that they produce less than lethal trauma, not that they’re painless

Question 32

bolawrap

Answer 32

shoot this at someone and it’s like a tether, it wraps around them and ties them up

Question 33

CS (tear) gas

Answer 33

Purpose is to temporarily disable by causing intense irritation of the mucous membranes, eyes, and skin. Toxic effects are supposed to be immediate, intense, and brief.

Question 34

OC gas (oleoresin capsicum, pepper spray, bear spray)

Answer 34

Purpose is to temporarily disable by causing intense irritation of the mucous membranes, eyes, and skin. Toxic effects are supposed to be immediate, intense, and brief. Just a more intense version of CS.

Question 35

Blast balls

Answer 35

a flash bang that also emits OC gas. SPD uses these.

Question 36

calmative agents

Answer 36

A class of drugs that tend to produce a calming or sedative effect. Currently no nonlethal version.

Question 37

nuclear taboo

Answer 37

norm against first use of nuclear weapons

Question 38

escalate to de-escalate

Answer 38

the idea that making the first nuclear strike will make your adversary back down

Question 39

pacing challenge

Answer 39

the nation that threatens to surpass our country; this country informs how we develop bc we develop in response to their actions.Don’t want to develop too slowly or they’ll surpass us, but also not too fast so they do’t freak out.

Question 40

politicization of intelligence

Answer 40

when policy makers take action to manipulate intel to support their policies and ideas

Question 41

Jericho Wall

Answer 41

Hamas’ battle plan for the Oct 7th attack. Outlined plans for a methodical assault designed to overwhelm the fortifications around the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities, and storm key military bases.